Toe guard and brake for skating shoes



Jan. 12, TERZI TOE GUARD AND BRAKE FOR SKATING SHOES Filed' Sept. 22, 1942 Kay; 1% 5 INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 12, 1943 'ron GUARD AND BRAKE FOR 'SKATING snoas Jolm Terzi, Springfield, Mass., asslgnor of onehalf to Arthur H. Mosher, Springfield, Mass.

Application September 22, 1942, Serial No. 459,277

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shoe toe guards, particularly for roller skating shoes.

An object of this invention is to provide a toe protecting device which may be installed on a shoe adapted to receive a roller skate, either at the factory in which the shoe is manufactured, or by an individual, after the shoe and skate have been assembled.

A further object of this invention is to provide a toe guard for roller skating shoes which serves as a brake for the roller skate. It is customary in braking or stopping, to drag the toe of the shoe on the floor. Such action not only wears out the toe and sole of the shoe, but also, as the sole of the shoe becomes worn, the exposed nails contact the floor, and scratch, gouge, and mar the surface of the skating floor. With this invention installed on the shoe, an efllcient brake is provided which at the same time protects the shoe toe and sole, and prevents contact of any metal part of shoe or skate with the surface of the skating floor.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described which is simple in design and economical of manufacture; which is sturdy and strong to withstand the rough treatment inherent in its use; and which may be installed on any shoe conveniently and in such a manner as to maintain the natural contour of the shoe toe and sole.

These, and other objects and advantages. of this invention will be clearly set forth and described in this specification, the accompanying drawing, and the appended claims.

Broadly, this invention comprises a semielliptical member of resilient material, such as rubber or resilient plastic, having a flange extending around its front and side edges, the flange extending above and below its upper and lower surfaces, respectively, with the upper and lower surfaces of the member diverging from rear to front, and means for securing the member to a shoe sole.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, in which like numerals refer to like parts through-' out,

A shoe I, having a toe portion 2, has attached to the sole 3 thereof a bearing plate A of a roller skate 5. A semi-elliptical toe guard or protector 6, having upper and lower surfaces 1 and 8 which diverge from rear to front, as best shown in Fig. 4, is inserted between the bearing plate 4 and shoe sole 3, as indicated in Fig. l. The

diverging surfaces 1 and 8 maintain the natural relation between the plate 3 and sole 4, with the front part of the sole 4 diverging upwardly slightly from the plate 6. The'member '6 is formed with a flange portion '9 on the front and sides, which flanged extends above the surfacel and below the surface 8.

in the material of the guard 6, against which the heads of the shoe nails will abut.

The projection of the part II of the flange i! below the surface 8 completely encloses the for: ward end of the plate 4, so that no portion of the plate It can come in contact with the floor when the shoe is tipped forwardly to use the guard 6 as a brake. the flange 9 prevents contact of any part of the shoe toe or sole with the floor.

The outer surface of the flange 9 may be cross grooved, if desired, to provide a plurality of small pyramidal contact points for braking. This construction is preferable, although not absolutely necessary to the eflicient operation of the device. The guard 6 may be reinforced or stiffened by cementing or otherwise attaching a stiff plate ii,

of fiber or the like, on the surface I. This reinforcing plate i5 is particularly useful in cases where the end of the plate 4 does not extend forward sufiiciently to completely cover the surface 8. The plate I5 is perforated at IS, in registration with the perforations J3, to provide for the passage of shoe nails to secure the guard 6 on the sole of the shoe.

H The portion. i0 .ofthe flange 9 which extends above the surface 1 en" circles and protects the toe 2 of the shoe i, and

The upper portion In of Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A toe guard and brake for roller skating shoes comprising a semi-elliptical member of resilient material having a straight rear edge and upper and lower surfaces which diverge toward its front edge, a flange on said member on its front and side edges, said flange extending above said upper surface and below said lower surface.

2. A toe guard and brake for skating shoes comprising a semi-elliptical member, wedge shaped in cross section with its thickest portion at the front, a continuous flange on the sides and front of said member and projecting above the upper surface of said member and below the lower surface of said member.

3. A toe guard and brake forskate shoes comprising a member of resilient material conforming in shape to the toe portion of a shoe sole, said member having a recess in its upper surface for receiving the toe end of a shoe sole and a second recess in its lower surface for receiving the toe plate of a skate, said member being wedge shaped in cross section between saidrecesses, with the thicker portion at the front.

4. A toe guard and brake for skate shoes comprising a member of resilient material having a rounded nose portion and upper and lower surfaces which diverge toward said nose portion, a flange extending around said nose portion and projecting above and below said upper and lower surfaces, respectively.

5. A toe guard and brake for skate shoes comprising a member of resilient material having a rounded nose portion conforming to the shape of the toe of a shoe and upper and lower surfaces which diverge toward saidnose portion, a flange extending around said nose portion and projecting above and below said upper and lower surfaces, respectively, the outer surface of said flange being grooved to provide a non-skid traction surface.

6. A toe guard and brake for skate shoes comprising a member of resilient material having a rounded nose portion and upper and lower surfaces which diverge toward said nose portion, a flange extending around said nose portion and projecting above and below said upper and lower surfaces, respectively, the portion of said flange extending below said lower surface being widened to provide a marginal area around said lower surface, a plurality of metallic washers embedded in said marginal portion and adapted to receive shoe nails for securing said member to a shoe sole.

7. A toe guard and brake for skate shoes comprising a member of resilient material having a rounded nose portion and upper and lower surfaces which. diverge toward said nose portion, a

flange extending around said nose portion and projecting above and below said nose portion, and a reinforcing plate of relatively rigid material secured on the upper surface of said member.

8. A toe guard and brake for skate shoes comprising a member of resilient material having a rounded nose portion and a recess in its upper surface for receiving the toe end of a shoe sole and a second recess in its lower surface for receiving the toe plate of a skate.

9. A toe guard and brake for skate shoes comprising a. member of resilient material having a rounded nose portion, a recess in its upper surface for receiving the toe end of a shoe sole, a recess in'its lower surface for receiving the toe and of a skate plate, means for securing said member on a shoe sole, and a relatively rigid reinforcing plate secured on the upper surface of said member.

- JOHN TERZI. 

